Dolce & Gabbana Closes Milan Stores in 'Indignation' Following Public Diss from City Official

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have temporarily closed all nine of their Dolce & Gabbana stores in Milan for no other reason than that Milan's Councillor for Commerce publicly dissed the designers and this really pissed them off.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have temporarily closed all nine of their Dolce & Gabbana stores in Milan for no other reason than that Milan's Councillor for Commerce publicly dissed the designers and this really pissed them off.

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Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have temporarily closed all nine of their Dolce & Gabbana stores in Milan for no other reason than that Milan's Councillor for Commerce publicly dissed the designers and this really pissed them off, Reuters is reporting.

Taped up in the closed shops' windows--along with a sign reading "Closed for Indignation"--is the offending article from a Milan newspaper, in which Councillor Franco D'Alfonso argues that the duo should not be allowed to show their upcoming spring 2014 collections in the city's communal spaces. "We don't need to be represented by tax evaders." D'Alfonso explained. Dolce and Gabbana were recently sentenced to jail for tax evasion.

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D'Alfonso has already issued a statement apologizing for his comments (sort of), saying his quotes were "not given in an interview, but extrapolated from an informal conversation" and "certainly did not express the opinion of the administration." Still, with a possible jail time looming--not to mention that $400 million fine--D'Alfonso's words are salt in the wound. So it's understandable that Dolce and Gabbana are still smarting.

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"We are no longer willing to suffer undeservedly the accusations of the financial police and the income revenue authority, attacks from public ministers and the media pillory we have already been subjected to for years," the duo, who are working to appeal their convictions, said in a statement.

They added they would be paying their over 250 retail employees during the temporary closure. The stores are set to re-open on Monday. So, in addition to paying that $400 million fine, Dolce and Gabbana are willing to lose countless more millions in lost weekend sales, simply out of pride. Gotta give 'em credit for that.

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Dolce & Gabbana can't catch a break. After designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were sentenced to jail time for tax evasion and then publicly dissed by a Milan city official (the designers closed all their Milan stores in protest), the company was probably hoping for an easy ride.
No such luck.

While the fashion industry gears up for what is sure to be another sexy Sicilian fashion show from Dolce & Gabbana during Milan Fashion Week, designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are bracing themselves for another courtroom battle over their alleged tax evasion.
And this time, the stakes are even higher than before: According to Forbes, the designers could face up to five years in jail as well as a hefty fine.

We still don't know what the fates of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana will be following their tax evasion trial in Milan. But if the prosecutor gets his way, the trial will end in jail time for all involved, WWD is reporting.